present tense infinitive verbs
I'm a bit stuck with all the different tenses in Spanish. Anyway if a verb is written in present tense does that mean it has to be infinitive? Thanks for any help
2 Answers
In English, the infinitive is identified by the little word "to" Ex. to speak, to write, to walk, etc.
In Spanish the infinitive is identified by the ending. There are three classes of infinitives: those ending in "ar" or "er" or "Ir"
To form any of the tenses, for example, the present tense, you remove the Infinitive ending, and replace it with a "personal" ending. I will demonstrate with the verb "caminar." With this introduction in mind you will able to understand the lesson given in the link by jtaniel.
Caminar (infinitive)
Yo camino..................I walk
Tú caminas................you walk (familiar form)
Usted camina.............you walk (formal form)
El/ella camina.............he/she walks
Nosotros caminamos. We walk
Vosotros camináis You (plural) walk (Familiar form used only in Spain)
Ustedes caminan.........you (plural) walk (formal form)
Ellos/ellas.caminan.......they (masc/fem) walk.
Here's a chart of the verb "hablar" (to speak) Not done in as great detail as mine but it's good.
